Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has made a significant move by approaching the Supreme Court with a request to invalidate the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court. This judgment, delivered on September 6, affirmed Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the victor of the 2023 presidential election.
In his Notice of Appeal, which is founded on 35 distinct grounds, Atiku firmly maintains that the tribunal, under the leadership of Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, committed grave errors and a miscarriage of justice in its findings and conclusions regarding the petition challenging Tinubu’s declaration as President by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, has just filed this Notice of Appeal. It implores the Supreme Court to nullify the entire findings and conclusions of the Tribunal, contending that they did not accurately represent the true essence of his petition.
Among other points, the former Vice President contends that the Tribunal made a legal error by failing to annul the presidential election conducted on February 25, 2023, on the basis of non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022. He argues that the evidence presented to the tribunal demonstrated that INEC conducted the election based on grave and substantial misrepresentation, contravening the principles of the Electoral Act of 2022 and the “doctrine of legitimate expectation.”
